Tale as Old as Time
by Detective Rysposito
Summary: This is story of two boys who didn't know how much they needed each other until they did. As time goes by, they both slowly fall and realize there's more to love than just friendship. Rysposito AU (Kev and Javi meet as kids) told through the ABC Challenge [rating, genres, and relationships will change as the story does]
1. Abrasion

_"I** love you **_

_for all that **you are**,_

_all that **you have been**,_

_and all y**ou're yet to be**."  
>-unknown<em>

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><p><strong><em>abrasion(n)- an area damaged by scraping or wearing away.<em>**

Javier shuffled his feet across the schoolyard with his books held loosely at his side. He didn't like this new school. he didn't want to move here in the first place, but once his father slipped out on them his mother wanted to start a new life somewhere else.

His mother told him to do his best and make friends, but there weren't many friendly third graders in his class. There was only one boy with the bluest eyes Javier had ever seen that wasn't overly obnoxious at all during the day, but that was because he sat in the front of the class alone with no one to instigate trouble.

It really didn't help that he transferred to this school halfway through the second semester, everyone else had their clique and wasn't looking for any new members. Javier didn't really mind at all, he let the rest of the school do what they wanted and he did what he wanted; it was simple.

That is until he caught a certain group of sixth grade boys pushing around the quiet boy with the bright blue eyes in his class around.

"You're such a dork, Kevin." One of the bullies laughed in a haughty manner before shoving the younger boy's shoulder roughly into the stone wall. Javier didn't like the fact that these bullies knew Kevin's name; that meant that they did this often. Those bastards.

"I'm sorry," Kevin mumbled softly pulling at a loose thread of his sweater with his head down; his chin pressed against his chest.

"I don't care. You gave my little brother all the wrong answers to his homework and he failed it. I know you knew the correct ones. I bet you got a 100." Well, the kid wasn't stupid, if Javier were him he'd do the same thing.

One of the other boys that was rummaging through his backpack shoved a piece of paper into his friend's hands. "You bet."

The bully scowled and shoved Kevin to the ground. Kevin looked up just in time to see his bag of books dumped over his head; the book he was currently reading painfully bounced off his forehead before falling to the ground amongst his papers and books.

Javier strutted over to the commotion and caught the bullies by surprise after connecting his solid fist into his back, "Leave him alone, jerks."

The three bullies turned around and puffed out their chests, but Javier wasn't intimidated at all. "What'd you say, midget?"

"Leave him alone, asshole." Javier pushed him out of the way so he could kneel besides Kevin and help him up. Javier wasn't a weak boy, his older cousins were always wrestling around, so he was able to make the bully stumble back into one of his friends. They were too bust mumbling about how a little kid, barely 9 years old had cursed on the school grounds. Javier rolled his eyes at their immaturity.

He growled and pushed himself up straight to regain some of his dignity before kicking a mix of pebbles and dirt onto the two boys on the ground. Kevin brought up his hands to cover his face, but Javier barely flinched and said, "Get outta here."

The bully scoffed and said to Kevin before leaving, "Just wait until you don't have your little bodyguard to protect you, I'll teach you your lesson."

Javier threw back one more promising threat as he watched them stalk away. He then turned to the boy next to him with a much softer expression, "You have a little cut on your forehead."

Kevin raised his fingers to the small gash that was barely bleeding; mostly a bruise, "I'll clean it up when I get home."

"Will your parents get worried? I know my Momma would." Javier's eyebrows furrowed.

Kevin shrugged his shoulders as he began to pick up his books, "I have a big family, they probably won't notice, y'know?"

Javier felt sorry for this little boy; his mother had explained to him back when his father left that not all families are perfect and they come in all shapes and sizes. Javier couldn't help the sympathy that tinged his heart when he remembered how he felt when his mother told him they were one of those "broken families" and didn't want Kevin to be alone and feel the same. Javier helped him pick up the rest of his papers and said, "You wanna come over to my house...my Momma wouldn't mind. In fact, I think she'd love to see me bring home a friend and especially one that she can give a band aid to." Javier laughed, "I don't let her baby me anymore."

Kevin hugged his backpack close to his chest and nodded with a small smile, "I'd like that."

Javier jumped to his feet pulling Kevin to his feet beside him, "Then come on then, momma has some cookies waiting for us."

Javier and Kevin walked to the former's house, shoulder to shoulder, trading their past lives of abandonment and isolation to eternal friendship and love.

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><p><strong>Leave some words for letters I haven't written yet!:)<strong>


	2. Busy

**Javi and Kevin are like 6th/7th grade here.**

* * *

><p><em>"<strong>I love you<strong>_

_for all that **you are,**_

_all that **you have been,**_

_and all **you're yet to be.**"  
>-unknown<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>busy- (adj.) having a great deal to do; (v)keep occupied<strong>_

"_Kevin," _Javier groaned bouncing his handball against the Irishman's bed board again and again.

Kevin barely looked up from his book and rolled his eyes at his best friend, "Shut up, Javi, I said let me finish this chapter."

Javier groaned even louder this time and threw Kevin's pillow from under his head to try and smack the book out of his friend's hand. Earlier, he forced Kevin off his bed into his desk chair once his mother let him up in his room. "That was like…"

"Only twelve minutes ago, Javi." Kevin threw the pillow off his lap and returned to his reading.

"Your book will be here all night, the sun will not. I don't know if you've noticed, Kev, but we need the sun to play stickball." Javier sat up on the bed and walked over to Kevin and stood over his shoulder watching Kevin read.

Kevin read silently for a few moments before he turned around to look up at Javier, "Can I help you?"

Javier shook his head but didn't move, "Don't mind me, man, finish your chapter."

Kevin furrowed his eyebrows, "Are you just going to stand there reading over my shoulder?"

Javier rested his hands on the chair and nodded, "I'll just wait for you to finish and then we'll head out." When Kevin didn't go back to his reading, Javier waved his hands gesturing the thick book in his hands. "_Go on."_

Kevin didn't even try to go back into his reading; Javier had already ripped him from his concentration so he rolled his eyes with a sigh and saved his spot in the book. "Alright, Javier, let's go. You win." He tossed his book to the desk and stood up.

Javier grinned innocently and tossed Kevin his mitt before the two went down the steps, arguing the whole way over who got last licks.


	3. Carry

**"I love you****  
><strong>for all** that you are,****  
><strong>all that** you have been,****  
><strong>and all** you're yet to be."**

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><p><strong>carry- (v.) <strong>**_support and move (someone or something) from one place to another._**

"Javi, hurry up." Kevin grunted from the other end of the dresser that he and Javi were carrying up the stairs. It was starting to get heavy and it really didn't help that Kevin was the one walking backwards.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kevin. Jeez," Javier panted, feeling just as worn out as his friend was from the first half of steps they already scaled.

Kevin grunted as he painfully clipped his ankle on a the step, "We could ask my Dad." He offered.

Javier shook his head, "He's always too busy for your 'stupid questions'. What makes you think he'll help now?"

Kevin looked away from his friend with a small shrug of his shoulders, "This isn't for me though so it's not pointless, -"

Javier abruptly dropped his side of the dresser causing Kevin to follow suit with a surprised but muted yelp. Javier narrowed his eyes at Kevin and said, "Stop." He shook his head, "Just because your _father_ doesn't care about something doesn't mean it's pointless. If you like it, then screw everyone else, Kev, especially him." He scoffed, "My father left me when I was three and yours couldn't care less about you. Do you know what that means?"

Kevin traced his finger along the top of the dresser and remained quiet.

Javier was not going to give up that easy, "Kevin," He repeated his best friend's name with more force behind the word, begging him to listen to what he had to say, "_Do you know what that means?_"

Kevin finally looks with a shrug of his shoulders, "No."

"It means that we don't need _our Daddies_ to come help us. They weren't there for us, never were, but we still turned out great. So fuck them." Javier smirked lightly. "We'll get this friggin' dresser into Mama's bedroom without them just like we've gone our first 15 years of our life without them."

Javier was glad to see a small smile etch on Kevin's face as they finished the last of their climb. Soon enough they were setting the large piece of furniture across from Momma Esposito's bed as she thanked them, "Thank you so much, boys. I knew you two could get it up here for me."

Javier exchanged a satisfied smile with Kevin before turning back to his mother, "Thanks, Momma, Kevin made me practically drag the thing up the stairs by myself but we managed."

"Hey," Kevin pouted from his side of the dresser. His eyes locked with Momma Esposito's and he knew that she knew her son fibbed by the slight smile she gave him.

"Go help yourselfs to the cookies I made for you two, they're on the kitchen table." She rubbed the top of Kevin's head before the boys had a chance to race each other to the mouth watering snacks.

She smiled as she watched her boys shove each other down the steps; grateful that they had found each other to fill the holes in their hearts.


	4. Danger

_"**I love you**_

_for all that **you are,**_

_all that **you have been,**_

_and all that **you're yet to be."  
><strong>_-_Unknown_

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><p><strong><em>Danger- (n)<em>********_the possibility of suffering harm or injury._**

"Javi, this is probably the stupidest thing you've ever suggested." Kevin said, but never slowed his run behind his friend.

"No, this is the best idea I've ever had." Javier called over his shoulder as they continued to run through the trees, avoiding any overhung branches.

Kevin huffed to show some sort of disagreement, but they both knew he was excited. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush that had him going or maybe it was just the fact this was the first time since last week that Kevin had seen anything outside the four walls of his bedroom.

Earlier that day, Javier climbed the tree that lead to Kevin's window and told him that he would be waiting for him outside his window at 1:00 am. At first, Kevin was hesitant because if his father caught him sneaking out he'd be in so much trouble, but after Javier convinced him to "live a little" Kevin complied.

Which is why they were running through the woods behind their houses towards a small lake that Javier found. "C'mon, Kev, we're almost there!"

"I'm right behind you," Kevin answered in a loud whisper as he closed the distance between him and his friend.

Javier shot him a smile before taking a sharp turn leading Kevin to a small lake just like he said. It was surrounded by large branches and bushes, hidden to the naked eye unless you were looking for it.

Kevin kneeled besides the it and ran his fingers over the water that was illuminating from the moonlight. "How'd you find this, Javi?"

Javier was already toeing off his sneakers with a small shrug, "Last week when your dad wouldn't let you leave the house I was bored."

Kevin turned his head with raised eyebrows, "I'm still not allowed to leave the house, Javier."

The Latino gave him a wink before stripping out of his t-shirt, "Exactly, but your dad'll never know."

Kevin rolled his eyes and followed him in taking off his clothes down to his boxers. He wrapped his arms around his chest with a small shiver, "It's chilly out, is swimming in a lake really a good idea?"

"We already went through this, Kev, it's an amazing idea." He grinned before climbing up the tree closest to the lake edge and catapulting into the peaceful water. He sprang upwards, ripples expanding from where his body collided with the cold water.

Kevin smiled watching him wave him over, "God, Javier, you are crazy." But he followed Javier's climb up the tree and dropped into the water just behind Javier. The cold water hit him like a ton of bricks, but he didn't complain once as he and Javi swam around the lake until their lips were blue.

It turns out they only lasted an hour and a half in the water until it was too cold to bear and they spent the next few hours laying down on the grass as they dried off. The whole time they didn't say a word. Once in a while, one of them would turn to the other and exchange a small smile, but not a word.

Unfortunately, the time when Kevin's father woke up each morning was just a half hour away and they both knew that if Kevin wasn't in his bed when he came into his room then house arrest would be the least worrisome punishment from his father.

"Javi,"

"I know," He sighed, "Don't worry, I'll think of something to sneak you out for, but next time it'll be during the day to feel the thrill of sneaking out when your dad's actually awake."

Kevin picked his shorts off the ground and pulled them over his soggy boxers, "Do you want him to kill me?" He threw Javier's shirt over to him and caught his shirt that Javi was throwing to him.

"He'll have to get through me before he can get to you." Javier puffed his chest out after he pulled over his white t-shirt.

Kevin held his hands out in a mock scale, raising and lowering them as he weighed the options "Javier, leather belt, Javier, leather belt…" He dropped his hands to his sides, "Well, good luck with that."

Javier scoffed, "Oh really, that's what I get for protecting you? Well then, maybe I won't now." He shoved Kevin roughly and he tripped over a root falling into the water. "Fuck." Kevin cursed when his clothes that he tried so hard to keep dry were now soaking wet.

Javier stood beside the water with his hands over his mouth, "Shit, Kev, I didn't mean to, I swear." No matter how serious he was, he couldn't hold back his stifled laughter.

Kevin lifted his hand with narrowed eyes, "At least help me up, you big jerk."

"Okay, okay." Javier let his laughs leak out as he carefully stepped over the root to reach his best friend who was bobbing in the water. He grabbed hold of Kevin's outstretched hand, but instead of pulling him up, Kevin pulled him down.

"Seriously?" Javier groaned once he settled in the water after the crash. He wasn't so much annoyed with Kevin for doing it as he was at himself for falling for it- literally.

And as much as Kevin and Javier wanted to swim until they shiver again, they knew they were cutting it a bit close with the time so they pulled themselves out of the water (not before some rough housing of course) and grudgingly walked back home, much wetter than they expected to be.

They stopped at Kevin's house at 5:23, and Kevin got ready to climb back up the tree that had a branch leading into his window. He turned around to give Javier a smile, "Thanks, Javi."

"I don't know if you're thanking me for the getaway or the surprise dip in the lake." He joked watching as the water continued to drip as he fixed his grip on the trunk of the tree.

Kevin made a face before he pulled himself up and disappeared through his window, giving him just enough time to shuck off his clothes, toss them into the closet and tuck himself in bed before his father stepped through his doorway.

As it turns out, Javier never did get a chance to save Kevin from his punishment to go on another adventure, but that was just because they both agreed that going out with a 102° fever would only make it worse.


End file.
